El Calafate

Introduction

Icebergs - what colours

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El Calafate is a small town in Patagonia, in the southwest of the Santa Cruz Province of Argentina. It borders Lago Argentino and the town has seen a significant growth in tourism during the last decade or so, with an increasing number of inhabitants as a result. It's the gateway to numerous natural attractions, like the fantastic Perito Moreno Glacier. It's location betweeen El Chaltén and Torres del Paine National Park (Chile) makes it an inevitable stop for those in transit

Sights and Activities

Monte Fitz Roy

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Monte Fitz Roy (Cerro Fitz Roy) lies on the border of Chile and Argentina in the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares. Francisco Moreno named the mountain in his book Viaje a la Patagonia Austral in honour of Robert FitzRoy, the captain of HMS Beagle, who sailed up the Santa Cruz River in 1834 and surveyed large parts of the Patagonian coast. The mountain is also sometimes known as Cerro Chaltén, which means smoking mountain, because of the clouds that often form around the peak.

The first recorded climb was achived by French duo Lionel Terray and Guido Magnone. Despite the average height of the mountain, it is listed as one of the most technical climbs in the world because of the almost vertical granite faces. There are years that not a single successful ascent was recorded due to the extremely difficult climb.

Perito Moreno Glacier

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The Perito Moreno Glacier is located about 80 kilometres from El Calafate, also the Parque Nacional de los Glaciares. It is one of the most important tourist attractions in Argentinian Patagonia. It is about 30 kilometres in length, and one of only a few glaciers that is not retreating.

Events and Festivals

Getting There

By Plane

Comandante Armando Tola International Airport (FTE), which is located 21 kilometres from El Calafte offer some flights. Aerolineas Argentinas flies to/from Buenos Aires, Trelew and Ushuaia.
LADE has flights to and from Bariloche, Buenos Aires, Comodoro Rivadavia, Mar del Plata, Puerto Madryn, Esquel, Rio Grande, Rio Gallegos and Ushuaia.
Finally, LAN Argentina flies to Buenos Aires and Ushuaia as well.

By Train

By Car

By Bus

Buses go regularly to El Chalten (3,5 hours), Puerto Natales (5 hours) and Rio Gallegos (4 hours). For Bariloche and Ushuaia, change in Rio Gallegos. Chalten Travel offers more connections during the summermonths (October - April) to El Chalten and Perito Moreno, with onward connections to Bariloche (2 days!).

By Boat

Getting Around

By Car

By Public Transport

By Foot

By Bike

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post

Correos de Argentina is the national postal service of Argentina. There are also two private carriers operating nationwide (OCA and Andreani) and a number of regional ones though Correos de Argentina will be the one most likely to be used by travellers. Post offices are mostly open between 8:00am and 8:00pm Monday to Friday and 9:00am to 1:00pm on Saturday, though there are regional variantions with longer hours in central post offices in big cities and shorter ones in small towns. Services are pretty reliable but slow, mostly taking about two weeks to deliver a postcard or letter to the USA or Europe, but usually within a few days sending it domestically. There is also a more expensive express options. You can track a package online at the Correos de Argentino website. Parcels take at least 3-5 days domestically and weeks internationally. Otherwise try international ones like FedEx or UPS to send parcels both more reliable as well as faster.